(Repeats story published late on Monday)
* Two Czech parties pull out of government agreement
* PM's party pushes ahead with deal, wants more talks
* Opposition party leaders to meet on Tuesday
By Jan Korselt
PRAGUE, April 6 (Reuters) - Two small Czech parties on
Monday pulled out of a deal with the two main parties to form a
caretaker administration before an October early election,
casting doubt on the plan.
Leaders agreed on Sunday that the outgoing minority cabinet
of Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek would be replaced by a team
led by Jan Fischer, the head of the country's statistical
office. It would serve until a national election in October.
Topolanek's three-party, centre-right government resigned
after losing a no-confidence vote two weeks ago. The defeat,
halfway through the country's European Union presidency, sparked
worries about a leadership void in the bloc.
A crack appeared in the plan for the new cabinet when the
Christian Democrats said they would not take part, saying they
wanted the outgoing government to stay on until the end of the
EU presidency in June and not the agreed May 9 date.
The announcement prompted the Green Party to say the
agreement was off.
"We want a new round of talks," Green Party Vice-Chairman
Ondrej Liska told Czech Television.
The new government could still be formed by the country's
two biggest parties, which signed the original agreement,
Topolanek's ruling right-wing Civic Democrats and the opposition
Social Democrats.
But it was unclear whether they would both stick with a deal
designed to forge a broad agreement with all parties in
parliament except for the Communists.
Topolanek said his party still wanted to go ahead with
forming the cabinet.
"I think this is far from being the last word (from the
small parties). I think we will leave this for the morning," he
told reporters.
PRESIDENT HAPPY WITH FISCHER
Topolanek hinted that the small parties might be left out,
saying it was more important to meet President Vaclav Klaus's
condition that the new government have a majority -- something
his party and the Social Democrats together command.
The Social Democrats had no conclusive statement on the
state of the talks but warned the country's political crisis
could escalate after the latest developments. The party's
leadership was due to meet on Tuesday morning.
Earlier on Monday, Klaus, who has the right to appoint the
prime minister, welcomed the original plan.
"In principle I am satisfied with this agreement," Klaus,
said in a radio interview. "I think (Fischer) is a considerate
man, who never had any radical political orientation."
Fischer was a member of the Communist party in the 1980s,
like many professionals who sought to further their careers.
The agreement foresees an early election, probably on Oct.
9-10. The next poll would normally have been due in mid-2010.
A March survey showed the Social Democrats led the Civic
Democrats but the margin narrowed to 4.5 percentage points from
the double digits seen last year, with most of the catch-up
coming since the country took over the EU presidency in January.
The new cabinet's EU role will likely be limited, given that
it will lead the bloc for less than two months.
Klaus -- a Eurosceptic who has repeatedly played down the
significance of the EU presidency -- said he had no doubt the
Czechs would complete it without any problems.
(Writing by Jan Lopatka, editing by Jon Boyle)
